Part Of Your World
by waterlooroad9
Summary: When Erin is left alone after her mum dies, Rachel Mason is there to pick up the pieces, alongside her two daughters, Phoebe and Matilda. Incorporates characters across all series in my ideal Waterloo Road! Eventual Rachel/Adam, all fluff! Please read and review! Erin, Phoebe and Matilda are my own characters, most other characters are WR!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Hello! I haven't written anything for a very long time and don't even know if other people still read WR fic but I would love some feedback. This is chapter is more of a preamble and I _**hate**_ writing preamble. Erin is my own character - she's fifteen and in Year 10, couldn't work out how to get that into the chapter! Enjoy :)

Erin took out her earphones at the sound of her mum's voice calling her. Opening her bedroom door, she cautiously replied,

"Yes, Mum?"

"I'm off out, there's spaghetti bolognese in the fridge to heat up." Erin sighed.

"Do you know when you'll be -" Her voice was cut off by the slamming of the sliding back door. Looking out of her bedroom window and watching her mum get into a taxi, Erin flopped onto her bed, abandoning the English homework at her desk. Although her mother's behaviour was not new to her, still Erin was troubled by the frequent disappearances and nights alone. She put her earphones back in and lay on her bed for a while before going downstairs to heat her tea and watch TV. A normal night for Erin, particularly since her mum lost her job four months ago. Knowing it was unlikely her mum would appear until the early hours, Erin decided to head for an early night and watch some Netflix in bed.

The next morning, Erin awoke to make her mum's strong black coffee and bring her paracetamol, her usual morning routine. The house seemed quiet, she thought to herself, as she carried the hot, steaming coffee upstairs to her mum's bedroom. She knocked twice before entering.

"Morning, Mum, I've got your coffee?" Erin stopped. The bed was empty. She placed the coffee on the bedside table and went to look in the bathroom. Empty. This was unusual, Erin thought, but she didn't think it inconceivable that her mum had stayed with a friend. She quickly tapped out a text asking her mum to let her know where she was. Their relationship was rocky, with Erin having to care for her most of the time, but she still cared. After showering and getting ready for the day, Erin decided to keep busy and focus on catching up with her Easter holiday homework.

A knock on the door later in the evening interrupted her studies. Erin presumed this was her mum, having lost her keys again.

"Coming!" called Erin. She knew it was best to stay on her mum's good side, as she learnt a while ago that passing judgement and showing disapproval of her behaviour got her nowhere. Erin took the key from the small plate on the table and unlocked the door. To her surprise, it was not her mum standing at the door.

"Hi. Erin?" Two police officers, one male and one female, stood in the doorway. "I'm D.I. Jessica Dixon, and this is D.I. Colin Hardy. Can we come in?" Erin stuttered,

"Um, yes? Is everything okay?" The officers sat on the sofa, and Erin sat on the one opposite. "What's going on?"

"Erin, is anyone else here at the moment?" D.I. Dixon asked.

"Er, no, no they went out for the evening, I stayed in to do some homework." Erin lied.

"Okay. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. This morning, a body was found on the beach by a dog walker. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but we believe it to be that of your mum." Erin felt her heart stop beating. She didn't know how to process this. She stared at a crumb on the table, focusing on it with all the strength she had, wishing for the words not to be true.

"Erin Finch?" D.I. Hardy's voice made her snap out of her daze. "I know this is incredibly hard to process. We'll do everything we can to make this easier for you and your family. Do you know if they'll be back soon?"

"Um, yeah, they've just gone out for something to eat. They'll be back in an hour or so I expect."

"Would you like us to stay with you until then?" D.I. Dixon suggested.

"No! No, it's okay, I want to tell them myself. I want some time to deal with this." stammered Erin.

"Okay. Obviously, there's things you're not going to want to think about dealing with now, funerals and things." D.I. Dixon handed Erin a business card. "Give us a call when you're ready. Take your time." The officers stood and prepared themselves to leave. "Take care, Erin." the female officer said.

As the door closed, Erin allowed herself to crumble. She let herself break, tears dripping into her lap. She moved to her mother's spot on the sofa, and cried into the cushion, and lay there until morning.


	2. Chapter 2

So! After a two-year hiatus, this fic is back! I had some new ideas for it and I'd half finished this chapter anyway, so decided to give it some new life. Hope you enjoy it

Chapter 2:

Days passed, and Erin did little. Contrary to the lies she told the officers, she had no family. She had never known her dad, her mother was an only child, and her grandparents died when Erin was young. Erin was alone. She hadn't answered any messages from her friends over the last few days, not wanting to explain the situation to anyone in fear of how talking could break her. Erin only had a five-pound note to her name, and wanting to save that for emergencies, she had resorted to only eating the food in the house. By Sunday night, she was down to plain pasta with a little cheese left in the fridge.

Monday morning came both too quickly and too slowly for Erin. Too quickly, as she wasn't ready to face the world yet, not having left the house since hearing the news a week ago, but too slowly, as she needed to break out of this place. She had been contemplating for the last few days whether, or how, to tell her friends what had happened. Being fairly studious and quiet, Erin had opted to keep her head down and hope the topic of her mum wouldn't enter conversation.

Erin walked to Waterloo Road with her earphones in, playing loud music, trying to block out the world and her thoughts, until Lauren ran and hugged her from behind. Erin jumped, and tried to play it cool.

"Hiya Erin! How was your Easter?"

"Yeah, okay. Yours?" Lauren then began to babble about her holiday in France, which left Erin to only nod and smile as Lauren spoke.

Turning in opposite directions as they entered the school building, Erin made her way towards her first lesson, French with Jo Lipsett. She headed to her seat next to Emily James, a girl she barely knew previously, but quickly became close with over the course of the year.

"Hey, Erin, you alright? Good break?"

"Not too bad. Thanks." She took a breath to regain composure and proceeded to take a pen and paper from her bag, ready to focus on the lesson as Jo entered the room.

"Bonjour, la classe!" she spoke with a voice too bouncy for the first lesson of the day. "Right, I want you all to pair up and start with some conversational French. Talk with your partner, in French, about your Easter holidays, les vacances du Paques!" Erin felt her heart drop. Sure, she could hide what was going on in English, but whether she could pull it off in French was a different matter.

"Qu'est-ce que tu fais pendant ta vacances, Erin?" questioned Emily.

"Er, j'ai fait mes devoirs, j'ai sortie avec mes amies…" her voice tailed off.

"Except you didn't did you? We've barely seen you all holiday, you haven't replied to any texts. So what were you really doing over Easter?"

"Emily! En Francais, s'il vous plait!" Jo called.

"I told you, I was busy" Erin mumbled. This was becoming too much.

"Busy doing what?" demanded Emily. "Look, if we've done something to upset you, you could at least let us know instead of sulking about it and ignoring us." That was the final straw for Erin.

"Look, it's not always as easy as that, so if you wouldn't mind pissing off and keeping your nose out!"

"Erin Finch! Cooler, now! Bad language is not allowed in my classroom!" Jo shouted.

"Don't worry, I don't want to be here anyway." muttered Erin as she stuffed her things into her bag and marched out of the classroom. Walking towards the cooler, she saw her form tutor, Sian Diamond, was on duty. Great, she thought, something else I don't need. She entered, the only one in the room, and sat in the back corner, as far away from her tutor as possible.

"Erin? It's not like you to be here?" questioned Sian. "Is everything okay?" Still fired up from the incident in her lesson, Erin snapped.

"I'm fine, will everyone just get off my fucking case?!" Erin picked up her things, and stormed out again, unable to control her emotions. She heard Sian following her and calling her name, but her head was buzzing, full of anger, and all the emotions of the last week. Out of Sian's view, Erin kicked a rogue chair in the hallway, which caused an almighty crash. Unknown to Erin, her headteacher, Rachel Mason had been walking back to her office, heard the crash and began to follow Erin. She knew she was one of Waterloo Road's brightest and most well-behaved pupils, and thought this behaviour unusual.

Erin crashed into the girls toilets, kicking a cubicle door hard, before entering one, locking the door, punching it, and for the first time since hearing of her mum's death, burst into tears. Nothing could stop the tides falling from her eyes that had been held back with such strength all morning. This was harder than she expected.

Rachel entered the toilets, and heard sobs from the second cubicle. She knocked gently.

"Erin? It's Miss Mason, is everything okay?" she spoke in a gentle voice. Erin took a breath, trying to contain her tears.

"I'm fine, Miss.", she croaked, her voice cracking.

"You know, I can tell you're not. Why don't you come out and we can talk about whatever it is that's made you this upset?"

"I'm okay. I don't need to talk." Erin fought back.

"It sounds like you do. Come on, whatever it is, I'm sure it can be sorted." Rachel heard the lock slide, and Erin opened the door a crack.

"That's it. It can't." Erin broke into more tears, as Rachel opened the door fully. Rachel put an arm around Erin, who held onto her as she broke down. Rachel stroked her back with one hand and her hair with another, giving her permission to cry.

"Come on, let's go to my office and get you something to drink, okay? Let's get you cleaned up a bit, it's alright." Rachel took a tissue from the dispenser so that Erin could dry her face from the tears as they walked back to Rachel's office.

Gesturing for Erin to sit on the sofa, Rachel poured two glasses of water from the jug on her desk, and took a seat next to the distraught girl. Erin took a sip of water, and a couple of deep breaths.

"Tell me."

"I... Miss, it's just... I don't know what to do." Erin felt tears choking her throat once more, desperately trying not to let her defence down again.

"Talk to me, Erin. Let's try and sort this out together."

"I can't. I can't say it."

"Would you like to write it down?" Erin nodded, and Rachel passed her a notepad and pen. With trembling fingers, Erin wrote three words.

(ITALICS) My mum's dead.

"Oh Erin, I'm so sorry." Pausing, Rachel added "Had she been ill?"

"She was an alcoholic. She lost her job because of it a few months ago, and it got a lot worse. She went out last weekend, and didn't come home. I thought nothing of it, she sometimes goes back to a friend's. But the police came, she had an accident and fell, a dog walker found her." Erin whispered most of this explanation, and Rachel placed a supportive hand on her knee.

"Oh, love. Who's been with you through all of this?"

"Um…"

"Erin?"

"I've been on my own, Miss." Erin wanted to lie like she had to the police, but she knew she didn't have any food left, and couldn't keep going by herself.

"You're all by yourself? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"It was in the middle of the Easter holidays. We don't have any family, and I didn't want to get put into care." Erin's was bouncing her knee up and down, and picking apart the tissue Rachel had given her. Rachel stood up, and popped her head round the corner of the office door.

"Davina, could you get Kim for me please?"

"Miss, please don't send me into care. Please." panicked Erin.

"It's okay. I'm getting Miss Campbell to come up and we'll have a chat, the three of us. Would you like me to get Miss Diamond up too, as she's your form tutor?"

Erin shook her head. "I swore at her earlier. I don't think I can face her yet."

"I'm sure she'll understand. In your own time, yeah? Let's just focus on one thing at a time for now."

The pair sat quietly until Kim arrived, surprised to see the usually quiet Erin sat on Rachel's sofa. Erin was known to Kim, but only for having anxiety around exams and coursework, nothing behavioural.

"Hi, Erin. Is everything okay?"

"Miss, I can't, can you tell her please?" Erin asked Rachel. Rachel began to explain the situation to Kim, who nodded with damp eyes.

"Erin, would it be alright if you sat outside with Miss Shackleton for a minute? I need to talk to Miss Campbell in private." Erin nodded and followed Rachel to the door.

Closing the door, Rachel turned to Kim.

"What are we going to do with her? She's so adamant she doesn't want to go into care."

"Well, not many kids are exactly thrilled about it, but where else can she go? Didn't you say she has no family?"

"No, nobody."

"Do you think a friend would take her in?"

"I don't know. It's a lot to ask somebody else's parent to do." Rachel bit her lip. "Kim…"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is possibly crossing the boundaries a little bit, but if we phoned the right people and it was all done by the book, do you think I could take her in? It's just that, she's one of our brightest students, she's never been in any trouble apart from the odd late homework, and I can't help but worry that foster care might drag her downhill. She's so vulnerable at the moment and I just think she should be with someone she knows."

"Do you know what, I think you might be right there. I mean, normally I'd say absolutely no way, but Erin is a bit of an exception. I can't see it being too much of an issue. You're DBS'd, plus you've got the girls at home. I don't see why you couldn't take her."

"I'll get onto Social Services now and run it past them. What do you want to do with Erin in the meantime?" Kim started flicking through Rachel's phone directory, looking for the right number to call.

"I think it's best if she stays up here. She's so emotional at the moment, I'm worried the slightest thing could set her off."

After a quick discussion with Social Services, it was decided that Rachel could privately foster Erin in the short term, given that she already had children and was a headteacher.

"Do you want to tell her, or shall I?" said Kim.

"I'll tell her. Um, Kim, is it alright if I shoot off with her in a bit? I know it's not even lunchtime yet but I'd rather go and get her things while Matilda's still at school. Phoebe's not so much a problem, but you know, trying to get anything done with an eight year old is never easy." They both laughed.

"Yeah, go on. I'll get Sian to cover your Head duties."

"Thanks, Kim." They both left the office, and Rachel called Erin back in.

"Take a seat, Erin." Erin sat down, still picking at the tissue.

"Me and Miss Campbell have just been on the phone to Social Services." Erin's face became panic-stricken "Don't panic, it's not like that. I explained to Miss Campbell and to Social Services that you're really anxious about going into care and that it would be better for you to be looked after by somebody you knew."

"But, Miss, I don't have any family around."

"I know. Which is why I asked Social Services if I would be allowed to look after you for a bit. What do you think?"

"I don't know, Miss, aren't you too busy for that?"

"Absolutely not. We've got a spare room, I'm sure the girls will be fine with it."

"Girls?"

"My daughters. You know Phoebe, in the year below you?" Erin nodded. "And I have another little girl who's eight, Matilda."

"Oh, yeah."

"It's okay if you don't want to stay with me. But you can't go back to living on your own, you're fifteen. It's me, or foster care. What do you think?"

Erin fidgeted.

"Thank you, Miss. I'd love to stay with you, it's just a lot to take in."

"I understand. Come on, I thought we'd go back to pick up some of your things and get settled in before I have to pick Matilda up." Rachel started putting her things in her bag.

"You really don't have to do this. And don't you have to be here?"

"Mrs Diamond's going to take over today. You've been through a terrible ordeal, Erin, you need a bit of looking after." Erin smiled, shuffling her feet, and followed Rachel out to the car.

"Did you want to text any of your friends and let them know what's happening?" Erin shook her head. She directed Rachel to her house, which was a five minute drive away.

When they arrived at the house, Rachel was impressed with how tidy Erin had managed to keep the house. She waited downstairs while Erin packed some clothes and other things in a bag. Opening the fridge and cupboards, she saw how little food there was, shocked at how the poor girl had been living off so little. She put some water in the pot plants before Erin came downstairs with a suitcase and a couple of carrier bags.

The drive to Rachel's house was about twenty minutes; she lived in a smaller village just outside the centre of Rochdale. Pulling up outside, Erin noticed how big and homely the house was, even from the outside. When she went inside, she felt an instant warmth as the smell of fresh laundry and flowers hit her.

"Come on, let me take a couple of those bags, I'll show you up to your room." Rachel offered. Erin followed her upstairs, and was led to a room comprised of a double bed with cream sheets pressed against the wall with the window, a desk with drawers, another chest of drawers to the side of the double bed, a wardrobe, and a mirror. All the furniture was a dark oak wood. It was the biggest room Erin had ever stayed in.

"Miss, are you sure this is okay? This room is so nice."

Rachel smiled. "It never gets used, only when my sister comes to visit, and the less that happens, the better. I'll leave you to get settled in and I'll bring you some lunch up." Erin thanked her. Nobody had ever taken such good care of her before.

Just before 3pm, Rachel came upstairs.

"Hey. How's the unpacking?" She sat down on the bed, where Erin was folding T-shirts.

"It's going ok. I'm sorry I've been quiet today."

"It's absolutely fine, Erin. You've been through hell, I wouldn't expect you to be very chatty right now. I've got to pick Matilda up from school in a minute, would you like to come with me? It might be nice for you to meet her away from Phoebe, I don't want to overload you." Erin nodded, pulled on some red Converse, and followed Rachel to the car.

"What's Matilda like?" asked Erin as they walked into the primary school playground.

"She's so sweet. She can be a bit cheeky sometimes, but she's so caring and kind. She's always got her head in a book, though, it can be hard to get her to do anything else."

"That sounds like me at that age. Well, and now too."

"Mummy!" called a small girl with brown curls, running towards them. She was carrying a book bag which was threatening to spill over.

"Hello, darling. Did you have a good day?" asked Rachel, kissing her daughter on the head.

"We got to do extra writing instead of art because the art teacher wasn't in, it was such a good day!" Rachel laughed, and then bent down to her level.

"Tilly, this is Erin. She's from my school, and she's having a bit of a hard time at the moment. Her mummy's passed away and she doesn't have anybody else to look after her at the moment, so we're going to look after her, does that sound okay?" Matilda nodded, and shyly waved at Erin who was smiling at her.

"Good." The three got in the car, and drove home, Matilda chatting to her mum the whole way.

When they got home, Phoebe was sat in the living room, playing on her phone.

"Matilda, why don't you go upstairs and get changed?" Matilda skipped up the stairs happily.

"Have you told Phoebe I'm here yet?" mumbled Erin.

"No. She'll be fine with it, though. Come on." Rachel and Erin went into the living room.

"Phoebe," Rachel sat down. "This is Erin, she's in the year above you."

"Yeah, I know." Phoebe said.

"Well, Erin, is it okay if I tell her?" Erin nodded. "Erin's mum passed away during the Easter holidays and she hasn't got any family around. So we're going to be looking after her for a bit, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure." answered Phoebe. "Are you okay?" she asked Erin.

"I will be." Erin shrugged.

Rachel suggested Erin and Phoebe put a film on while she cooked dinner. They put Notting Hill on, and Matilda stayed upstairs, her head in a book.

Dinner felt strange to Erin. Everyone sat round the table, laughing and sharing stories from their respective days. Erin couldn't remember the last time she sat at the table with her mum, let alone enjoyed it. She felt guilty, angry, grief-stricken, and everything in between.

"Are you going to eat anything Erin?" asked Matilda. Erin looked pleadingly at Rachel, not knowing what to say.

"Erin's a bit tired, Tilly. She's had a long day and maybe doesn't feel like eating much today." Matilda accepted this, and went back to happily eating her lasagne.

"I never feel like eating when stuff's happened, too." Phoebe spoke. She'd not said much to Erin all day, so Erin was surprised at her compassion. "Mum's good with that though. But she won't let you get away with not eating, she'll force feed you toast later."

"Phoebe!" warned Rachel. "Play nice." She paused. "She's right, though. You don't have to eat now, but you must try something later. When everyone had finished, Erin claimed she was tired, and went upstairs to bed.

A couple of hours later, Rachel appeared at the door.

"Brought you some toast. You okay?" Erin nodded. Rachel came to sit next to her on the bed.

"Just a bit, you know, overwhelmed."

"That's understandable. It's probably a big change from what you're used to?" Erin nodded, and a single tear escaped. Rachel shuffled up to where Erin was sat, and put her arm around her, squeezing her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Miss."

"You don't have to apologise for anything" said Rachel, softly. "Except for calling me Miss at nine o'clock at night. It's Rachel in the house." Erin laughed tearfully.

"Go on, have something to eat and then why don't you have a shower and get into bed, hmm? Have an early night."

"Okay." Rachel got up to leave. "Rachel?"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks."

Rachel smiled.

"It's okay. Come and get me if you need anything, whatever time it is, okay?"

Erin nodded, and Rachel left her upstairs, going back to join her daughters. When Rachel eventually went to bed, she popped her head into Erin's room to see her fast asleep in bed, the duvet tangled around her legs. She went in and pulled the duvet up to Erin's chin, tucking her in gently so she wouldn't wake up. She stroked her hair briefly, and whispered goodnight.


End file.
